Sonic's Christmas Visitor
by flamewarflipsides
Summary: Sonic is alone in Tails' workshop on Christmas night, bored and lonely, when he hears footsteps on the roof. What red and white insanity is waiting for him outside, and what does it mean for the holiday? A Secret Santa present for Jam1220 at TrueBlueAsylum on deviantART, done in the style of "A Visit from St. Nicholas." Poetry in a loose anapestic meter.


'Twas the night before Christmas,  
And deep in the shop  
A hedgehog growled softly  
And sat with a flop.  
He reached for the table,  
Grabbed a bottle and glass,  
And poured out his soda  
To drink it with class.  
He whined, "Man, this sucks!  
How I wish Tails were here.  
He'd make fun of my humor  
And bring me some cheer."

Sonic pulled out the postcard  
And smiled at the sight  
Of his two-tailed mechanic  
Backed by palm trees, in flight.  
"At least he's got family,"  
Sonic whined with a sigh.  
"Coulda gone if I'd pushed,  
But I'm not one to pry."  
Sonic put down the postcard  
And sipped from his drink  
as he brushed off the silence  
And tried not to think.

He supposed he was lonely,  
Though he guessed 'twas by choice.  
Although there in the night,  
He could stand Amy's voice.  
She'd gone home with Cream  
For the holiday meal,  
And though he'd been invited,  
Not with Amy; no deal.  
Knux was off on his island;  
Shad had gone to the ARK.  
Vector's crew went to Central;  
Big had gone off with Bark.

So there Sonic sat,  
All alone with regrets  
As his friends partied hard  
And he tried to forget.  
He had just thought that sleep  
Could be his cheap way out;  
He would run from his boredom  
By being a lout,  
When a sudden, loud bang  
Made his heavy heart flutter.  
He heard scraping and grunting;  
He heard feet in the gutter.

Sonic rose from his couch  
To see what was the matter.  
He thought he saw red,  
But knew Santa was fatter.  
He charged up a spin dash  
And aimed for door.  
Sonic hoped to fight Eggman;  
'Least that jerk wouldn't bore.  
But the door never opened,  
Though it creaked in the wind.  
Sonic thought it was over  
And he cracked a big grin.

As he made for the couch  
To lie down for a nap,  
A horrible crash made him think  
'Twas a trap.  
Sonic leaped to his feet,  
And he looked 'round the room.  
Ashes rose from the fireplace;  
Sonic feared for his doom.  
Could it be Doc Robotnik  
At this Christmas hour?  
Surely some kind of magic  
Would stop Ivo's power…

Then out of the hearth  
There emerged a squat soul:  
A red and white creature  
with a nose like a mole.  
He smiled at the hedgehog,  
Then coughed and looked down.  
"What the heck are you doing?  
Knux, don't fool around!"  
The red spiny anteater  
Laughed as he coughed.  
"Merry Christmas, you jerk,"  
Knuckles said with a scoff.

"What'd you do with the island?"  
Sonic asked through a frown.  
Knuckles shrugged. "Took the gem;  
Got two hours 'til it's down."  
Sonic smiled; that made sense,  
But it didn't explain,  
"Ok, why'd you come, then?  
I'm not trying to complain,  
But I'm not used to company  
On Christmas, or ever.  
Especially when you  
Leave that island, like, never."

The spiny anteater  
Cracked a big toothy grin.  
"Tails said you were alone;  
Maybe I should drop in.  
We echidnas don't celebrate  
Christmas like you,  
But I hear it's for giving,  
And that's all that you do.  
I wanted to visit  
And tell you hello;  
Maybe eat all your cookies  
'Fore I have to go."

Sonic felt his heart leap  
As the gloom seemed to lift,  
But he said to Knux sadly,  
"Hey, I don't have a gift."  
Knuckles grinned. "I don't need one,  
But I got one for you.  
Rouge said you should give this  
To someone who's true."  
He pulled out a box  
Sonic opened with glee.  
He found mistletoe there  
that fit Rouge to a tee.

"What's wrong? Don't you like it?"  
Knuckles asked, looking sad.  
"Oh, it's funny, but  
If I say why you'll be mad."  
Knuckles crossed his red arms,  
And he glared at his friend.  
"So tell me or don't;  
I'll find out in the end."  
"Your bat friend's a prankster;  
This dumb plant's hard to miss.  
If you walk under a little,  
They'll expect you to kiss."

The spiny anteater turned  
Red in the face.  
"The bat told me to get that?  
That thief's a disgrace!"  
"Dude, relax," Sonic said,  
With a huge, impish grin.  
"We'll pretend you brought cookies,  
Then everyone wins."  
"Hey, speaking of cookies,  
Do you have any here?  
I hear you need food  
To make some guy appear."

Sonic laughed and walked off,  
Returning with treats,  
And the pair sat there eating,  
Counting wins and defeats.  
By the time Knuckles left,  
Sonic's heart felt much lighter,  
But his eyelids were heavy  
And the outside grew whiter.  
He went toward his bed,  
Feeling peaceful and free,  
When he noticed some boxes  
There under the tree.

"Did Knuckles leave these?"  
Sonic asked as he knelt  
To look at the boxes  
That someone had dealt.  
The labels said "Santa"  
Had left them for him,  
Plus one tin of popcorn  
Had a note on the rim.  
"Your friend's treat's on the island,  
And Miles got his gifts, too.  
I know giving to them  
Is the best gift for you."

Sonic looked at the boxes,  
Then turned back to the note.  
"I'll give you gifts regardless;  
That is not why I wrote."  
His eyes burned a little  
As he read Santa's letter.  
"Thank you for my present;  
You've made the world better.  
Without your best efforts,  
There's no naughty or nice.  
To put you on a list,  
Well, why even think twice?"

To Sonic, those words  
Trumped the best of the gifts.  
Still, nothing could beat  
A good friend's visit's lift.  
He decided, still grinning,  
To do presents at dawn,  
When the evening  
And all of its magic was gone.  
Then he would go out  
In the snow and the ice,  
To visit the friends  
That he thought had been nice.


End file.
